Review: Avatar

How somebody can go from Piranha Part 2 to making Avatar is the most amazing special effect I saw this past weekend. The recipe includes 6 different but well mixed ingredients.  The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies and Titanic. These are all the movies James Cameron has made in chronological order. An amazing accomplishment when it comes to the Box-office, grossing a stellar US $5 billion, but at the same time a very revealing timeline. Let me explain.

James Cameron was and is a person with a dream. A dream to become a film maker that would change the way we see movies one step at a time. He actually started his journey after watching Star Wars which is very interesting considering that Avatar is a Star Wars like creation. It is a universe. He quit his job as a truck driver so that he can enter the film industry. After seeing a nightmare about a robotic hitman he wrote and directed The Terminator. The rest is history.

Now take a look at the above movie timeline again and think of the pattern that emerges.
With every movie we got bigger and badder effects. Great movies all of them but I didn’t feel the connection with the man that gave us Terminator after Terminator 2. James Cameron is related to science fiction to me. A man that likes his super high-tech toys and enjoys a good sci-fi story just as much as we do. With Avatar he finally does it again, the way he should. He has created a fantasy epic. An incredible cinematic experience, especially in the technology involved, as I have my issues with parts of the story.

Avatar takes place in 2154 in Pandora. A planet occupied by the Na’vi, a species that is in “touch” with the planet and its wildlife and resources. The humans have come to Pandora to extract a mineral called unobtainium that is worth millions of dollars per kilo. By using brute force they want to move the Na’vi out of their home, a massive tree called the Hometree, because that is where the biggest supply of unobtainium is located.

What I liked.
Avatar is the red pill. Once you take it you enter wonderland. I entered the IMAX with very high expectations. I wore my glasses and the movie started. From the first scene of the movie, right after it loses focus and you don’t know what is going on you are immersed. You have entered Pandora. There is no poking sticks at the screen here and cheap ways of impressing the audience.
When the main character, Jake Sully, gets off the ship and the camera switches to the first person perspective, I was there. I wanted to move my hands and see them move in front of me in that scenery.

The world that Cameron and his team of 2000 have created is stunning. I have not seen special effects as good as these. Even better, I loved that you can’t tell a green screen was used. Compare this film to other movies of 2009 that you could tell from a mile away (X-men Origins: Wolverine anyone?) and you will see what Cameron has accomplished. He didn’t just throw this movie together to make some cash. He worked hard to perfect it. To show us what can be done today. This planet is alive and breathing. You can touch the vegetation, walk in it. When Jake Sully runs out of the lab and dips his feet in the ground you feel the dirt. Every time a jump is made by one of the Na’vi you are falling with them. The creatures that are part of this world are also very impressive. All kinds of colors and shapes. So much fun and magic that makes you wanna be there.

The performances by all of the main cast are believable and thankfully not overacted. Everybody plays their part perfectly and are able to make their characters three dimensional. I couldn’t resist that one…
I was especially happy with Sigourney Weaver’s performance as she plays bitchy but lovable so good. Stephen Lang is a bad ass that I loved to hate. He is the perfect choice for the role and his scars make him look super hero like cool.

What I didn’t like.
The “wow” factor is there for the special effects but unfortunately not for the story. Don’t get me wrong. It is a solid story from beginning to end that will keep you entertained. But it is also predictable and full of stereotypes. The first thing I thought of while watching Avatar was  Terrence Malick’s 2005 movie The New World. Avatar is so close to the cowboys vs Indians history that it almost feels transferred intact to a space scenario. The nature loving Indians that respect their land being attacked by the hi-tech colonists that want to pillage the land and its valuable resources without respecting the equilibrium. I believe the film also draws some of its ideas from Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke. James Cameron is known for being a huge Japanese anime fan.

When it comes to characters we get everything we would expect in a blockbuster Hollywood story. The tough as nails Colonel, the eccentric but good hearted scientist, the underdog main character, the corporate “after the money” suit, the rebel marine… and so on. The story is also predictable in the sense that it does follow the beaten path and plot advancement rules. I didn’t like the fact that it is almost a children’s fairytale. For a situation close to war as it depicts it is not “dark” enough. It stays a bit closer to the fantasy than the reality of war.

Conclusion
Cameron, even with the predictability mentioned above in the story and characters, manages to make a film that will please almost everybody. To tell you the truth I was not annoyed by its flaws because it was done so well. It could have easily fallen apart (The Phantom Menace and Transformers 2 come to mind) but it didn’t. I entered the theater, went along for the ride and enjoyed it. If the movie will be able to stand the test of time, when its effects will not be as impressive anymore, we will see. Right now, it is the best audiovisual treat you can give yourself in a theater.

Review: Avatar10.0102

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Harry Papavlasopoulos

Harry is a modern geek, bad writer, aspiring videographer / photographer that likes games, comics, gadgets, and most of all talking about movies! Here he will write about the movies that get him excited and, most importantly, the ones that piss him off! Harry Papavlasopoulos has 4 post(s) at Harry the Critic.

3D James Cameron Sam Worthington sci-fi Sigourney Weaver Stephen Lang Zoe Saldana Posted under Featured, Reviews by Harry Papavlasopoulos